This June, a group of teenagers from across the country gathered in Washington, D.C. for a transformative Harvest of Hope experience. These students had all attended Harvest of Hope before, gleaning fields and learning about food insecurity in their communities. But this week in our nation’s capital took them one step further—into the heart of advocacy, justice, and the systems that shape who has food and who does not.
Thanks to your support, these teens dove deep into the root causes of hunger and poverty, not just by studying them, but by meeting the people who are changing the system and discovering how they can be a part of sustainable change in their own communities.
The campers prepped and served meals through local organizations like D.C. Central Kitchen and So Others Might Eat. They harvested produce at a Lederer Garden, an urban communal farm run by Washington, D.C.’s Department of Parks and Recreation, and shared it with residents. They even spent time at Randall Memorial United Methodist Church (a longtime SoSA partner) cleaning up a garden area and office space and preparing grocery bags for a food distribution. These youth experienced the joy of sharing abundance and saw how neighborhood partnerships make a profound impact.
Harvest of Hope participants also learned about policies and practices contributing to food insecurity. Students visited Alliance to End Hunger and the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society. They studied how access to housing, healthcare, and education is inseparable from food justice and discovered how partnerships and policy work can magnify the impact of direct service. Ending hunger will take more than handing out a bag of groceries. The students were challenged to think deeply about how race, housing, and employment intersect with food access, and how advocating for affordable housing or a livable wage is also a way to fight hunger. While the outreach these students do through the Society of St. Andrew makes a huge difference to people in need, they now fully grasp that policy support for people experiencing poverty is essential, too.
The week culminated on Friday with visits to Capitol Hill. Students made appointments to speak with Congressional staff about hunger-related policies, urging leaders to take seriously the needs of millions of Americans who don’t have enough to eat. It was a powerful reminder that their voices matter and that young people have an essential role to play in building a more just and compassionate world.
“I often leave a mission trip physically exhausted, but I’m leaving this Harvest of Hope feeling spiritually and mentally nourished too.”
And all of this? It was made possible by supporters like you.
Your support doesn’t just fill plates. It builds advocates. You are equipping the next generation with tools, knowledge, and confidence to take action. One student from Virginia prayed, “Let us take this home with us.” Because of you, these youth are returning to their churches, schools, and communities ready to speak up for their neighbors and challenge the root causes of hunger at every level.
The work of ending hunger is not simple, and it won’t happen overnight. But as these Harvest of Hope campers witnessed firsthand, it can happen. And it starts with people like you: people who believe in justice, compassion, and a future where everyone has enough.
This article was originally published in the Summer 2025 Quarterly Newsletter.